Read Board: Postals

On regular plbs, one of our nearby p.o.s had this ancient woman who would bark "What's in there?" Instead of the q's she is supposed to ask. Thankfully, she retired & replaced with a very friendly agent.

We have a fair number in our immediate family and we give birthday cards to each other in person. I save the envelopes that haven't had the flaps completely glued down and are re-usable. Even if there's a name written on the front, that can be covered up with a label.

So *technically* every micro postal should have the extra ounce stamp on it, even if it's at 1 oz or under and even if it's thinner than 1/4" because the stamp will make the envelope uneven and it's not paper.

I've learned to dump my postals in the mailbox and go, because the USPS employees always say the additional postage is needed. If they're doing more to sort out anything that might possibly jam the machines, then maybe that won't work anymore.

I just sent two micro postals your way. I added the "extra ounce" postage to one just to see what would happen.

This mystery postal is now closed. It was certainly different being on this side of the mystery. You were probably frustrated at the beginning by the numbers. As you'll see throughout my explanation, I could have used a whole lot more numbers. However, it is now time to reveal the meanings of the clues.

The answer is "The Great Escape".

50: Both the book and film were dedicated to the fifty who were executed (murdered) after being recaptured, contrary to the Geneva Convention on the treatment of prisoners of war. Hitler had wanted them all killed, but his generals talked him out of that.

76: There were 76 prisoners (of the planned 220) who successfully made it away from the prisoner of war camp. Of those, 3 eventually made it to Commonwealth countries. 73 were recaptured, and 23 returned to prisoner of war camps.

75: The night of 24/25 March 1944 was when the Great Escape occurred, so this year marks the 75th anniversary of the escape. When I recently saw the film on television, I thought that this would be a great subject of my first mystery postal. When I started investigating the subject for clues, I found out that this was the 75th anniversary so I knew that I had to do it.

Harry: Harry was the code name of the tunnel used for the actual escape. It was started in hut 104 under a stove. In the film, this was the one in the drain sump.

Poland: The camp was within the pre-war borders of Germany, but is now in Poland.

New moon: The escape was timed for the new moon so that the prisoners would have the best chance of getting away from the camp.

Tom: Tom was the tunnel originally planned for the escape. It was started in hut 123 next to a stove chimney. In the film this tunnel began under a stove. It is unknown how the actual tunnel was discovered.

Roger: Roger Bushell, also known as "Big X", was the organizer of the Great Escape. He threatened to court martial anyone who uttered the word "tunnel".

Dick: Dick was the third tunnel dug for the purpose of the Great Escape. It was dug in the shower drain of hut 122. In the film the entrance to this tunnel was not shown. Work on it was stopped when camp expansion began where Dick was going to surface.

Cooler: At least in the film, Steve McQueen's character ended up in the "Cooler" (solitary confinement) multiple times.

Air Force: The Great Escape was planned by prisoners from the Royal Air Force, the air force of the British and Commonwealth countries.

Book: "The Great Escape" (book) was written by Paul Brickhill, an Australian who was in the camp. The book was published in 1950.

Film: The film is a highly retelling of the events of the book. It was released in 1963. I have seen it before, but seeing in again earlier this year prompted me to make this mystery postal.

Tunnel: Tom, Dick and Harry were the code names of the three tunnels planned for the Great Escape. After discovery, the prisoners started digging another tunnel named George. It wasn't finished before the camp was liberated by Soviet forces in January 1945.

Sagan: Sagan is the German name for the town closest to the prisoner of war camp. It is now called Żagań, in Poland.

Stalag: Stalag Luft III is short for Stammlager Luft III; literally "Main Camp, Air, III". This was the site of the Great Escape. This stalag consisted of multiple compounds. The Great Escape took place from the North Compound, where British and Commonwealth prisoners were held.

FYI: "The Wooden Horse" is the account of another escape of 2 prisoners from this same compound. It was made into a film released in 1950. I read the book in junior or high school as an assignment.

This was fun for me. I hope that it was fun for you too. I look forward to doing another and for the next one by IrishRef.

I have on occasion sent markers or ink for postals that I wanted to ensure the right colors were used (with no issues). The ink/markers came back just as I sent them every time. If it doesn’t change the postage rate I don’t think it’s necessary to ask the group.

For those who are new to mystery postals and for those who need a refresher the rules follow.

To get this postal you will have to guess the theme/name/subject of the stamp. Clues will be posted on the postal boards and on this tracker. I will try and post one per day. For each clue posted each person may make one guess prior to the next clue being posted.

Guesses should be sent to IrishRef via AQMail, not posted on the boards! Guesses will only be accepted from AQ members through AQMail.

Even if you have no clue take a guess anyway. Half the enjoyment is seeing the range of incorrect answers and how people connected clues for those guesses. You will only get a response from IR if you: A. Have the correct answer, B. Are very close or I need to clarify your guess, or C. Your guess peaks my fancy.

This one may be a little more challenging and is dedicated to my son. Will explain that one with the results. I anticipate that this will either come quickly around clue four or could be rather frustrating. In this one you still need to use all the clues, but the answers will then be used to come up with the real theme/topic. I will re-evaluate based on the responses through clue 8. If this isn't clicking a second round of clarifying clues will be given.

The first 10 members correctly guessing will be notified by AQMail. Tracker order will typically be determined by order correct answer receipt (Exception to this are international winners who will be at the end of the tracker). The correct answer with how each clue is related will be posted once the postal is full.

Clue 2 correction. Hydrogen was the real clue. It was unintentionally mispelled. This is important to clarify as misspelled words can be an additional layer of clues. Thanks to foxfriend and jampersandj.